1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to Vitamin D production in the human body, and more particularly, to a method and related kit to facilitate the safe production of Vitamin D in the human body.
2. Description of the Related Art
Vitamin D includes Vitamin D-2 (ergocalciferol) and Vitamin D-3 (cholecalciferol). Vitamin D-3 is produced in human skin when it is exposed to ultraviolet B radiation present in sunlight. Vitamin D is known to regulate calcium and phosphorus levels in the blood. Vitamin D contributes to bone growth by helping bones absorb calcium. Lack of adequate Vitamin D can result in bone softening diseases, including rickets and osteomalacia. Osteomalacia, sometimes called “the adult form of rickets”, causes a softening of the bones, joint pain, and a propensity for bone fractures. Even in the absence of osteomalacia, persons with inadequate Vitamin D intake may experience osteoporosis, also associated with joint pain, loss of bone density, and increased bone fragility.
Vitamin D, in adequate quantities, is also believed to exhibit anti-tumor activity. As D-3 is produced in the skin, it can regulate skin cell proliferation. Bodo Lehmann of the Department of Dermatology, Carl Gustav Carus Medical School, Dresden (Germany) University of Technology writes, “ . . . mounting evidence indicates that cutaneous Vitamin D(3) synthesis is of high importance for the prevention of a broad variety of diseases, including various malignancies” (Photochemistry and Photobiology, volume 84, page 1246, 2005). Vitamin D supplementation may have a prominent role in cancer prevention as well as in the treatment of numerous forms of cancer, including skin, lung, breast, ovarian, gastrointestinal, colon and prostate cancers. For instance, recent epidemiological studies indicate that daily supplementation can markedly lower the risk of colon, breast and ovarian cancers. Therapeutically, it has been found that patients who receive chemotherapy or surgical treatment during the summer (i.e., have more sun exposure) have increased survival relative to patients treated in the winter. These data suggest that Vitamin D may contribute to patient survival. Furthermore, some Vitamin D-3 metabolites have themselves been used as chemotherapeutic agents with antiproliferative effects against several types of cancer including breast, colon, and prostate tumors, leukemias and lymphomas.
Vitamin D-3 is produced in the epidermal skin layer during sun exposure by conversion of 7-dehydrocholesterol. 7-Dehydrocholesterol, a cholesterol-like molecule present in the skin, is the precursor of Vitamin D-3 and forms cholecalciferol after being exposed to sunlight. Cholecalciferol (or “calciol”) is the inactive, unhydroxylated form of Vitamin D-3. Cholecalciferol is thereafter hydroxylated in the liver to become calcidiol (25-hydroxyvitamin D-3). Calcidiol is further hydroxylated in the kidney to become calcitriol (1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D-3). Calcitriol is the active hormone form of Vitamin D-3.
While exposure to sunlight produces Vitamin D, over-exposure to sunlight poses its own risks, including skin cancer. People who live in warm, sunny climates have become so concerned about skin damage resulting from overexposure to ultraviolet radiation that many will not go outdoors without first applying sunscreen or wearing clothing that covers skin that would otherwise be exposed. As a result, it is now common for people who live in sunny, temperate locations to develop Vitamin D deficiencies. For example, a recent study has indicated that even persons residing in Southern Arizona commonly suffer from Vitamin D deficiency as a result of measures taken to avoid exposure to the ultraviolet rays of the sun. Those who avoid sun exposure altogether, or who extensively use sunscreen, prevent 25-hydroxyvitamin D in the skin from getting sufficient ultraviolet light (UVB) to be converted to 25-dihydroxyvitamin D, thereby leading to moderate to severe Vitamin D deficiency. As already explained, this can lead to severe osteoporosis, and increased rates of certain types of cancers.
It is believed that the adequate creation of Vitamin D requires only about ten to fifteen minutes of sun exposure per day to a person's skin without the protection of a sunscreen.
Topical application of Vitamin D to the skin is already known. For example, a topical cream form of cod liver oil is manufactured under the Health Pro Lab (“HPL”) brand, and is available from Springboard of Spring Valley, Calif. Likewise, U.S. Pat. No. 5,422,099 (Holick, et al.), discloses pharmaceutical compositions of tachysterol and lumisterol for topical application to the skin in order to produce Vitamin D compounds in the skin when exposed to low energy sunlight.
Others have already described cosmetic compositions for topical application to the skin which include both a sunscreen as well as either cod liver oil or Vitamin D. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,696,049 (Vatter et al.) discloses a cosmetic composition that may include the oily ester emollient cod liver oil, as well as organic UV sunscreens. Likewise, in U.S. Pat. No. 7,371,396 (Ghisalberti), a dermatological composition is disclosed which includes Vitamin D (described as an active agent that modulates cutaneous pigmentation and/or proliferation and/or differentiation), as well as UV filters. U.S. Patent Application Publication No. US 2006/0177390 (Person), published on Aug. 10, 2006, discloses that increased use of sunscreens may be increasing certain cancer risks by preventing the skin from producing Vitamin D. The published Person application discloses the addition of Vitamin D to a topical sunscreen composition. Similarly, in U.S. Pat. No. 6,814,959 (Muller, et al.), a UV blocking agent is disclosed, and in one embodiment, cod liver oil is added. The problem, however, is that the combination of Vitamin D in the same carrier as the sunscreen will necessarily prevent the Vitamin D to be absorbed into the skin before the sunscreen begins blocking out the sun's UVB rays.
Still others have suggested the possibility of deferring the application of sunscreen, when going outdoors, for the purpose of enhancing Vitamin D production in the body. For example, in a Nov. 7, 2005 internet web posting entitled “Rethinking Sunscreen?”, Dr. Andrew Weil answered a question asking whether constant use of sunscreen prevents the body from getting enough Vitamin D. In response, Dr. Weil stated that new findings have led some researchers to suggest that “we may have gone overboard by insisting that everyone wear sunscreen whenever in the sun”, and suggested that “it may do you more good than harm to get out in the sun for 15 minutes or so without protection several days a week”, and further suggesting that “[a]fterwards, go back inside and slather on the sunscreen.”
However, there does not appear to be available an effective and convenient method or apparatus to facilitate production of Vitamin D in the skin while protecting the user from skin damage that often results from overexposure to UVB rays of the sun.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to prevent a deficiency of Vitamin D from developing in a human body without posing additional risks to the subject.
It is another object of the present invention to safely treat a deficiency of Vitamin D in a human body.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an apparatus that facilitates production of Vitamin D in human skin while guarding against damaging exposure to UVB radiation from the sun.
It is a still further object of the present invention to provide such an apparatus that is reliable, effective and easy to use.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a method for enhancing production of Vitamin D within a person's skin while protecting the person from excessive exposure to ultraviolet rays of the sun.
These and other objects of the invention will become more apparent to those skilled in the art as the description of the present invention proceeds.